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Smooth as butter after update followed by factory reset
10/27/2013

Pros:

2560X1600 Screen:This screen is very bright, brilliant, and sharp. It's actually one of the best screens I have ever seen on a tablet. It actually blows the N8000s screen away. Its very easy on the eyes while browsing the internet, reading a book or watching a movie.

4 core 1.9 GHz Processing Power with 3gb of ram:The tablet can handle close to any application that is thrown at it. After the updates and factory reset, S Note imported the entire 56 page pdf while the N8013 was still importing slide 17 of 56. While playing graphically intense games, the tablet is smooth as butter. When switching between apps and screens, the tablet does so rapidly with no lag.

8220 mAh Battery:The original N8013 had around a 7000 mAh Battery and use to last all day. However the increased processing speed and screen capabilities may draw excess power from the 2014 note's 8220 mAh battery; I will return to this section to edit it.

Rear Camera 8 MP Camera:

The camera is an upgrade over the 5MP camera on the N8013, however because the screen has a really good resolution, it seems to make the picture seem worse than it is. I have this effect on my desktop computer with two monitors, bad pictures look better on the screen with the poorer resolution. Anyhow, objectively, the camera is just like the ones from last year's cell phones. The added flash is nice to have because a lot of tablets seem to leave this essential feature out.

Capacity:Either you have the 16 GB or the 32 GB version; I'm pretty sure you know the benefits of both. However its important to note that the 32 GB version leaves around 25 GB of actual space to use. With the N8013, I never filled up the flash drive despite having close to 1000 songs, 200+ photos, and a years worth of lecture notes and document files. However, usage patterns do vary; if you are the type of person that likes large games, then you could certainly get the 32 GB model of the device and then store extra content on a 64GB micro SD card.

Polaris Office:Polaris Offcice is a great alternative to Microsoft Office for editing or creating documents on the fly. I mainly use Polaris for converting powerpoints to pdf so that they can be imported to S note. Polaris 5 can also be used for direct pdf and powerpoint annotations; this method does not seem to support palm rejection, but it's still very useful for those that follow slides, type notes on slides and do light annotations to the slides.

Watch On:This is a great TV guide like application. The bonus is that it uses the built in IR blaster. This is a cool feature if you are missing the remote or want to impress friends.

My Magazine:This is a great media hub for news. If you follow world news, you can have a great deal of information in this one app.

Samsung Perks:

Cons:

S Note:The main critical point of the 1st edition of this review revolved around S Note and the lag; S Note and the slow performance are the main reasons that I bought the tablet; the initial experiences ruined this tablet for me. However, THE FACTORY RESET CLEARED UP ALL OF THE LAG/INSTABILITY IN S NOTE AND SYSTEM WIDE.

S Note has a new interface that doesn't really contrasts with previous versions of S Note. Shape and Formula Match have been separated from the main tool bar and included under the heading transform, the icon that resembles the cloud.

On first thought, this seems innovative, however compared to the old version of Shape Match, this process can be counter productive. For instance, on the old version, one could just select the shape match tool and then draw the shape. If unhappy with the shape, the user could simply press the undo arrow and try again. However, on the new version, you must write the text first and then transform it into a shape or text via the selection tool. If you make a mistake, you must press undo and fix the thing that you were trying to transform. This feature is annoying and counter productive in my opinion. I frequently take Cornell notes where you draw a line down the middle of the paper, closer to the left side of the sheet. With the new set up, I have two extra steps, I have to draw a line and then draw a free form or rectangular box around the imperfect line that I drew just to turn it into a straight line...

As far as having Wolfram Alpha solve equations directly through S Note, some users have reported that its embedded in the keyboard some where.

Concerning old .snb files, the tablet does not support them on the fly, but it CAN convert them to the new format. After the factory reset, the tablet is quicker and more stable at converting the .snb files; there have been no crashes during conversion.

First glance, the previews to notebooks are gone on the new version of S Note. The previews to the notes have been replaced with realistic looking book covers. If you once depended on looking at the note in order to easily find it, think again.

There are more advanced templates available on the device; they actually look pretty nice. However, I still have not found a way to add a homemade template to the device.

As far as sync accounts within S Note, Google Drive seems to be missing as an option. If there is a way to add it, please someone respond so that I can edit this. In the mean time, I will look for a solution. Currently on the 2014 model, Sync options include the Samsung Account and Evernote.

Writing with the new S pen seems smoother and better, however that's due to the increased friction. The increased friction seems to slow down writing a little, but an after market pen or more use may rectify this problem.

Photoshop Touch:This application is missing from the 2014 edition of the tablet, however it is still available in the Play Store for only $10.00.

Other Thoughts:

It is essential to do a factory reset immediately after getting the two upgrades. If not, the system will not be stable.

User Interface:

The tablet's user interface seems counterproductive in comparison to the more simple nature of the first edition. There are some things that touchwiz does better and some things that it does worse. All I can say is that the settings section is very confusing. For example, Samsung even hid the developer options; they can only be unhidden by tapping the build # a number of times...

Coming from the N8013's simplistic nature can be kind of harsh, but it is certainly doable. Read the user guide or google the answers to your confusion.

Multiview is still here on the 2014 note. Its useful but it doesn't use the same intuitive methods as the N8013 does. Simply tapping on the icon for Multiview does not launch it along side another window, you must drag it over.

I as well as other users initially reported that there is no pin window feature. Upon further exploration, this is not true. It is accessible from the Air View window; you must draw a space for the application and then select from the limited supply of apps including; calculator, alarm, You Tube, contacts, ChatOn, Hangouts, and internet. In my opinion, this is counter productive in comparison to the old simple pin window button.

Physical Attributes:

The tablet aesthetically is really nice on the eyes. I always thought that the original N8013 was a little homely. I'm not sure why the “pleather” (plastic leather) look has people complaining. I think it looks nice.

I do not like the capacitive buttons nor the home button on the bezel. It becomes cumbersome to hold the tablet in portrait mode; sometimes your hand may hit one of the capacitive buttons or it may be awkward to intentionally use them while the device is in portrait mode. I have always found the softkeys that rotate with the screen better. In addition, I don't like the feel of the home button, it seems like it may degrade over time; in my opinion, the less physical buttons, the better. The iPhone, iPad, and iPod home buttons of earlier generations seem more sturdy than button on the 2014 note; this may not be true, its just a subjective thought.

Upgrade Experience:

There are a lot of things that the tablet does that are similar to the N8000s, however there are a lot of things that are different. There will be a learning curve and importing your old notes to the new note is not as straightforward as it could be. However, the improved processing speed and screen are very compelling reasons to get this tablet.

As of now, I officially recommend this tablet to new users or people that upgrade from a previous generation note.

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